Thomas silver



THOMAS SILVER, O F NEW YORK, N. Y.

IMPROVEMENT IN GOVERNORS FOR STEAM-ENGINES.V

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 58,491, dated October2, 1866.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS SILVER, ofthe city, county, and State of NewYork, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Governors forSteam-Engines and other motors; and I do hereby declare that thefollowing is a f'ull, clear, and exact description of the same,reference bein-g had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of' thisspecication, in which- Figure l is a vertical section of a governor withmy improvements in a plane parallel with its axis of rotation. Fig. 2 isa plan of the same. Fie'. 3 is a vertical section ofthe saine in theplane indicated by the line x no in Figs. l and 2. Figs. et and 5 areviews of some of the details of' the invention, which will behereinafter explained.

Similar letters of reference indicate correspondin g parts in theseveral figures.

This invention relates more especially to the class of governors inwhich the controlling force is obtained by combined action of a tly ormomentum wheel with attached speed-limiting vanes and a spring or itsequivalent. One of' its objects is in the application of such a governorto a steam-engine to enable it to be more convenientlyconnected with thethrottle or regulating valve by working the said valve without thesliding sleeve commonly employed upon the governor-spindle to transmitthe action of' the governor to the valve; and to this end one part of myinvention consists in an oscillating sleeve arranged upon thegovernor-spindle, so geared with the said spindle and with themomentum-wheel, and so connected with the throttle or regulating valveand ,with the spring, that the drivingpower is transmitted through thesaid sleeve to the momentum-wheel, and that the influences ot' the saidwheel and itsl attached fans and of the spring are transmitted throughthe said sleeve to the valve.

In order'to adapt a governor of this class for running the engine ormotor at different speeds, or for running exactly at any desired speed,it is desirable that the speed-limiting vanes shall be adjustable insuch manner as to render their surfaces capable of being presented in amore or less effective manner to the resisting act-ion of theatmosphere.

The methods heretofore employed for the adjustment of such vanes haverequired the stoppage of the governor to enable such adjustment` to beperformed. This, it will be obvious, involves much trouble, as it may benecessaryT to make several adjustments before the requisite speed isobtained.

To obviate this difficulty another part of' my invention consists inproviding for the above adjustment by the connection of the vanes with asleeve or other piece which is adjustable lengthwise upon the spindlewhile the governor is in motion.

' To enable others skilled in the art to make and use myinvention, Iwill proceed to describe y its construction and operation.

' A is the main spindle ofthe governor, fitted to rotate freely inbearings in two standards, B B', and deriving rotary motion from theengine or other motor, the speed of which is to be regulated throughspur-gearing a b, or any other suitable means. To this spindle there isloosely fitted the loose independently-rotating sleeve c, which isconfined longitudinally between a collar, d, and a spur-gear, c, both ofwhich are firmly secured to the spindle A. To this sleeve is firmlysecured the momentumwheel C and a small spnr-geanf, the said wheelcarrying the speed-limiting vanes or fans D D.

E is the oscillating sleeve fitted loosely to the spindle A, upon whichit is confined longitudinally between the spur-gear c and a collar, g,which is fast on the spindle. On the end of the sleeve E next the gear cthere is a broad flange, E', and on the opposite end a flange, E2. Inthe flange Ethere are secured, at equal distances from and at oppositepoints relatively to the center of' the spindle, two pins, h h., whichare parallel with. the spindle;

'and to each of these pins there are fitted loosely two spnrgears, t j,one larger than the other, and both secured rmly together.

The smaller, t' t', of these gears are of equal size, and gear with thegear e on the spindle, and the larger ones, j j, also of equal size,gear with the gear j'. Io the flange E2 there is attached on one side ofthe spindle A a rod,

Z, which forms the connection of' the governor with the spindle m ot'the throttle or regulating valve, and to the same flange on 4the opvalveis placed, may be arranged horizontally, vertically, or in any otherposition, the connections of the rod l and spring m being arranged tosuit the position of the pipe and valve.

In order to render the action of the spring F on the oscillating sleeveE uniform in all degrees of tension, it is connected with the flange E2by means of a slotted segment or sector, L, which is pivoted to the faceot' the said. ilange by'a pin, af, butv firmly secured thereto by aset-screw, b, which passes through the slot c of the said sector. Thecord d', by which the springF is attached to the said sec tor, works onl[he arc of the latter, which is so arranged on the pin a', and securedby the setscrew b', that as the spring is extended, and its tensionthereby increased by the oscillating motion of the sleeve E, the cordacts upon a portion of the are of the sector as much nearer to the axisof the spindleA and sleeve E as to counteract the increased tension; andas the spring is allowed to contract, and its tension therebydiminished, the cord acts upon a portion of the sector as muehfartherfrom the axis of the spindle and sleeve as is necessary to counteractits diminished tension, and hence the effective action ofthe spring` onthe sleeve must be always uniform.

The speed-limiting vanes or fans D D are attached to the momentum-wheelC by means of pivots a a, the axes of which are parallel with the commonaxis of the spindle A, the object of such attachment being to enable thesaid vanes or fans to be adjusted in planes radial to the axis ofrevolution or tangential to circles of greater or less diameterconcentric with the said axis, that they may meet with more or lessresistance from the atmosphere in their revolution. These pivots areattached rigidly to the vanes or fans, and are fitted to turn inbearings in the wheel, and they have secured to them crank or wristplates p p, the eccentric wrists q q of which are connected by rods r rwith wrists s s, secured in the flange H' of a sleeve, H, which is ttedto turn freely on the exterior of the sleeve c, hereinbefore mentioned,but which is confined longitudinally between the collar d andmomentumwheel.

To the exterior of thissleeve H there is titted a slidingcircumferentially-grooved collar, l, the groove t of which receivesanti-friction rollers t t', attached to the forked upper end of a lever,J, which works upon a h'xed fulcrumpin, c, Fig. 1, attached to thestandard B. The lower end of this leverhas applied to it a screw, K, bywhich the said lever may be moved on its fulcrumpin. The said lever may,however, be moved by other suitable means. I

Secured in the sliding collar l there are two pins, u u, which passthrough spiral slots fw w in the sleeve H, and enter straightlongitudinal slots y y in the sleeve c.

The slots w w are represented in Fig. 5, which is a longitudinal outsideview of the sleeve H, and the slots y y are represented in Fig. 4, whichis a longitudinal outside view of the'sleeve c.

A movement of the lever J on its fulerumpin e, effected by the screw Kor other means, produces a longitudinal movement of the sliding collar Iupon the sleeve H, and the pins a a, moving in the spiral slots 'w w ofthe sleeve H, cause the said sleeve to turn on the sleeve c, and in thismovement of the 'sleeve H the wrists s s act through the rods 'r r uponthe wrists to turn the pivots nu and vanes or fans D D, and set them inany direction required to vary the resistance of the atmosphere to theirrevolution, for the purpose of varying or adjusting the speed of theengine or motor. This operation may be eifected as well while thegovernor is in motion as whileit is stationary.

The operation of the governor when applied'to a steam-engine is asfollows: Rotary motion being transmitted from the engine to the spindleA by the gearing a b, or other means provided for the purpose, the gearc on the said spindle transmits motion through the gears it' to thegears j j, and these latter transmit motion to the gear fand themomentum wheel and speed-limiting vanes at a higher velocity than thatof the spindle; and as the gears z' t' and jj are supported by the pinsh h, attached to the ilange E', it will be understood that the driving-power is transmitted from the spindle to the wheel and vanes throughthe sleeve E.

The momentum of the wheel C and resistanceoffered by the atmosphere tothe vanes while the load on the engine is uniform cause the gear f,attached to the momentum wheel, to hold back the gears j j and sleeve Eagainst the force of the spring F with such effect as to exactlyconnterbalance the effect of the spring on the said sleeve and keep thelatter stationary in such position that the rod l holds the valve openat the requisite degree to give the requisite supply of steam to theengine; but when the load or work 011 the engine is diminished, and theslightest tendency to an increased speed is manifested, the speed of thespindle A being increased in a corresponding degree, while themomentumo'f the wheel and the resistance of the atmosphere to the vanesremains the same, the vanes and momentum wheel are held back, while thewheel c instantly carries the wheels t' i and the sleeve E forward inthe direction in which the spindle and momentum-wheel rotate, which isindicated by arrows in Fig. 3, and the tenvsion of the spring F, whichtends tov hold the valve wide open, is thus overcome sufficiently tomake the rod l descend and reduce the opening of the valve sufficientlyto preserve the proper speed of the engine; or when the load or work on.the engine is increased, and the slightest tendency to diminish speed ismanifested, the pressure of the gear e upon the gears M beingdiminished, the spring F draws back the sleeve E and so opens the valvetogive more steam to preserve the proper speed of the engine.

As the necessary action of the sleeve E is produced during a smallportion of the revolution of the spindle A, which may be driven at ahigher velocity than the engine-shaft, the governor is very sensitive,the controlling action of the valve being produced during a smallfraction of a revolution of the engine.

To vary or adjust the proper speed of the engine, the vanes may beadjusted to meet with greater or less resistance by means of the lever Jwhile the engine is in motion, wh reby a"`great advantage/is obtainedover other fangovernors in which the engine must be's'topped before thevanes canA be adjusted.

My inventionis capable of many modifications. For instance, three lniteror bevel gears may bc substituted for the train of spur-gearing; second,the momentum-wheel and vanes may be on separate axes instead of on themain spindle A of the governor, in which case the said wheel and fansmay be on another shaft and driven at a speed slower or no faster thanthe main spindle A third, with the same system of gearing as isrepresented the momentum-wheels carrying the fans may be fast on thespindle A, and the driving be done by a gear on a sleeve rotatingthereon; fourth, the momentum-wheel and vanes may be driven by powerdistinct from that ofthe en gine or motor to be governed; fth, the vanesmay be applied to operate centrifugally, and be thereby thrown outfarther from the center as the speed of the engine is increased, andvice versa, and hence be made self-adjusting.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

l. The oscillating sleeve fitted to the governor-spindle, and so gearedtherewith that the driving power is transmitted through it to themomentum-wheel and its attached vanes, and so connected with the springand with the regulating-valve that the controlling influences of thewheel, vanes, and spring are transmitted through said sleeve to thevalve, substantially as herein described.

2. Connecting the spring with the oscillating sleeve by means uof aneccentric segment or sector so arranged as to make the action of thespring always'uniform, or equivalent to that of a weight, substantiallyas herein specitied.

3. The connection of the speed limiting vanes with a sleeve or piecewhich is adjustable longitudinally in relation to the governorspindle,substantially as and for the purpose herein setforth.

THOMAS SILVER.

Witnesses:

HENRY T. BROWN, J. W. GooMBs.

